HBO Max is expanding its DC programming with a new half-hour comedy series, “The People v. Gorilla Grodd,” which has received an eight-episode, straight-to-series order from DC Studios and Warner Bros. Television.
The series will star Skyler Gisondo as Daily Planet photographer Jimmy Olsen and Jimmy Tatro as Gorilla Grodd. The cast also features Beck Bennett as Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover as Cat Grant and Wendell Pierce as Perry White, all of whom appeared in Superman.
The ensemble cast includes Mary Holland, Eduardo Franco, Arian Moayed, Dan Perrault, Andrew Leeds and Tim Baltz.
The People v. Gorilla Grodd takes the familiar DC universe in an unconventional direction, presenting its story as a fictional true-crime documentary produced by the Daily Planet.
The series follows Grodd, a superintelligent ape accused and convicted of murdering his father, the King of Gorilla City. Jimmy Olsen reopens the case and investigates whether Grodd was wrongly convicted in one of Metropolis’ most notorious murder trials.
The mockumentary-style approach will explore the Metropolis criminal justice system while offering a comedic look at some of the DCU’s recognizable characters and locations.
“We are thrilled to be working with Tony and Dan, alongside James, Peter, the entire DC team and our colleagues at WBTV, to bring these iconic DCU characters to HBO Max in a new and unexpected way. We already know Skyler Gisondo is pitch-perfect as Jimmy Olsen and we can’t wait for fans to experience Jimmy Tatro’s captivating and hilarious portrayal of Grodd,” said Amy Gravitt, executive vice president of HBO Programming and head of HBO and HBO Max comedy series.
James Gunn and Peter Safran, executive producers and DC Studios’ co-chairmen and co-CEOs, said the project grew from the cast’s work together on Superman.
“Between Skyler’s wonderful performance and the fantastic chemistry of the Daily Planet cast, we knew coming out of ‘Superman’ that this would be a fun world to explore. We’re excited to work with the brilliant Dan Perrault and Tony Yacenda to take the audience down some of the darker and funnier streets and alleyways of the DCU as Jimmy spotlights the Metropolis criminal justice system for his docuseries,” they said.
Yacenda and Perrault will serve as showrunners, writers and executive producers, with Yacenda directing every episode.
“We’re excited by the challenge of creating a series that feels less like an entry into the DCU and more like an artifact from it. A Daily Planet original documentary made for the people of Metropolis,” Yacenda and Perrault said.
The series is executive produced by Gunn, Safran, Yacenda and Perrault. The People v. Gorilla Grodd is produced by DC Studios in association with Warner Bros. Television.